Threats / Cisco / CVE-2022-20701
CVE-2022-20701
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-06-22
Cisco Small Business RV160, RV260, RV340, and RV345 Series R vulnerability
A stack-based buffer overflow in Cisco Small Business RV routers enables unauthenticated remote code execution, privilege escalation, and denial of service.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
Stack buffer overflow (CWE-121) in Cisco Small Business RV160, RV260, RV340, and RV345 routers permits unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code with device privileges, bypass authentication controls, and disrupt network operations.
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
1 independent public report of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-03).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.09144 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: Cisco, Small Business RV160, RV260, RV340, and RV345 Series Routers. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-121 Stack-based Buffer Overflow — weakness family: Memory safety.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a malicious network request targeting the vulnerable buffer in the router's input handler.
Business
Attacker gains initial network access to the device without credentials.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I overflow the stack buffer to overwrite return addresses and inject shellcode for arbitrary code execution.
Business
Attacker achieves remote code execution with full device privileges.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I execute commands to modify firmware, disable security features, or establish persistent access.
Business
Attacker maintains control of critical network infrastructure and can pivot to internal systems.
4
Data at risk — exfiltration narrative 4
Attacker
I trigger a denial of service condition by crashing the router or exhausting resources.
Business
Network connectivity is disrupted, causing business downtime and operational impact.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05